The voice of the tree: “I am the beam that holds your house, the board of your table, the bed on which you lie.” –Unknown author

Care & Planting

Care of Containerized Seedlings
In the Styroblocks: Upon receipt of the seedlings, immediately remove the Styroblocks from the shipping boxes. Seedlings should be kept in a cool place if possible before planting. Under a tree or the north and east sides of buildings are ideal storage locations. Water your seedlings after unpacking and again right before planting. If you won’t be planting the seedlings right away, they should be watered daily or as needed. You can check for dryness by pulling out one or two trees to inspect. When you put the tree back in the block, be sure to line up the grooves in the root plug with the grooves on the inside of the container. How often they will need water depends on the wind, temperature, and humidity. When watering, give them a good soaking – any excess will run out the bottom of the blocks.

Extracted and Bundled: Keep seedlings in the shipping boxes in a cool place. These trees should be planted as soon as possible.

Individually Bagged: These trees may be removed from the shipping boxes and stored in the refrigerator for a short time. However, as with all trees shipped outside of the Styroblocks, these seedlings should be planted as soon as possible. Care and planting instructions are also printed on the poly bag.

Planting Containerized Seedlings:
If still in the Styroblock, seedlings should be watered well before planting. Seedlings may be planted by hand or with a planting machine. The most important thing to remember is to make sure that the top of the root plug is covered by approximately 1/2” of native soil. Firmly pack the soil around the seedling. None of the root plug should be exposed.

After planting, if water is available, water the seedlings well. For the first month the seedlings should be watered weekly unless there is abundant rainfall (1/2” per week). Keep weeds and grass away from the trees (approximately one foot all around the tree) for the first couple of years. Of course, we realize that in most cases watering is impossible or impractical!

Care of Bareroot Stock:
All bareroot stock should be kept in a cool place and planted as soon as possible. Protect roots from drying out during storage and planting. As soon as you receive your seedlings, open the box and check the roots for moisture. They should be damp and may need to be lightly sprayed with water. If you must store them, keep them in the coolest (not freezing) place possible (34-38 degrees F.) Keep them out of the sun and wind.

Certain species of bareroot stock should be “sweated” for best survival in the field. Sweating helps break dormancy created by a winter of cold storage. To sweat the stock it needs increased humidity and warmth until the buds start to swell, usually in only a few days. This can be accomplished by setting the box in a warmer place (60-70 degrees F.) inside a building (but not in the direct sun) and keeping the roots moist. Check daily for moisture and to see when the buds begin to swell. It is important that you not begin sweating stock until planting conditions are also warm and moist. Planting sweated stock into subfreezing or very dry conditions will defeat the purpose. Species that may require sweating are HACKBERRY, MAPLE, SERVICEBERRY (JUNEBERRY), OAK, BIRCH, AND ROSE.

Planting Bareroot Stock:
The most important thing to remember when planting bareroot seedlings is to make sure the roots do not dry out. Keep them in a bag when planting by hand. If machine planting, keep the roots covered in the planting boxes on the machine. A wet burlap bag works well for this. Trees should be planted at the same depth at which they were grown in the nursery. If hand planting, make the planting hole large enough (depth and width) for the root system (don’t jam a large root into a small hole) and firmly pack the soil around the roots (make sure there are no air pockets).
Use watering guidelines above.